As disclosed in British Patent 1,185,111 (Morris) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,082,275 (Daimler et al.), 3,555,079 (Marumo et al.), and 4,832,871 (Bade), it is known that tert-amines can be quaternized with haloalkanoate salts in water or a polar protic organic solvent to prepare betaines in solution form, most commonly as 30-35% active aqueous solutions.
Solid betaines have the advantages over betaine solutions that they can be transported at lower costs and offer more flexibility in the formation of products from the betaines. It is possible to recover solid betaines from these solutions, but it would be preferable to be able to prepare the betaines directly in solid form.